Therrien put that line out there when it was a 5 on 3 with Gonchar already out with an injury while playing in preseason game #1. On a 5 on 3, I may warm up to the idea, but I still like Malkin's accurate and wicked slapper from the mid-top right circle and watching Sid work his magic down low/in the corners when on the PP.

When we are on a 5 on 4 PP, I completely hate the idea and I strongly doubt Therrien would put the two of them on the point during a 5 on 4. My main concern continues to be putting Malkin on the point during a 5 on 4. It doesn't work and it takes away from Malkin's true talent while on the PP, shooting that hard slapper in the top left corner while the goalie is sliding to his right.

The diagnosis finally is in for Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar. The prognosis will take a bit longer.

Gonchar got a dislocated left shoulder when he was hit by Tampa Bay winger David Koci in an exhibition game Saturday night at Mellon Arena.

General manager Ray Shero said it is premature to speculate on when Gonchar might be able to play, and that no decision has been made on whether surgery will be performed.

"'Indefinite' is really the way to put it, because we don't know," Shero said. "I don't think we're going to know more maybe until next week, when he has a chance to see some other doctors, get some other opinions about what avenues he can take for getting better."

Didn't Malkin suffer a dislocated shoulder running into John LeClair in preseason of his rookie camp? I thought he missed about 4 or 6 weeks. Granted he was much younger than Gonchar is now, but I hope he's not out much longer than that.

While I'm going to take the wait and see approach with Gonchar's situation, it's not looking good for him or the Penguins defense early.

We have a over-the-hill defenseman in Sydor who's name was surrouned with trade rumors during the whole offseason and a inexperienced defenseman in Goligoski. While I feel Goligoski will eventually turn into a solid offensive-defenseman, from what I saw of him last season at the NHL level he was very raw. Eitherway, he's going to get his shot, hopefully he takes full advantage of that opportunity.

Also, the Penguins chopped the roster down to 29. The most notable players sent down to WBS were Beech, Stone and Filewich. It's looking like time is running out for Stone and Filewich. They have been given opportunities to step up and find a place on this team and they are simply not capable. Maybe at some point this season they will be used as packaged trade bait, because I do not see either involved with the Penguins future.

While I'm going to take the wait and see approach with Gonchar's situation, it's not looking good for him or the Penguins defense early.

We have a over-the-hill defenseman in Sydor who's name was surrouned with trade rumors during the whole offseason and a inexperienced defenseman in Goligoski. While I feel Goligoski will eventually turn into a solid offensive-defenseman, from what I saw of him last season at the NHL level he was very raw. Eitherway, he's going to get his shot, hopefully he takes full advantage of that opportunity.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that Letang will step up and fill in for Gonch on the # 1 PP unit.

Maybe getting an extremely fresh/healthy Gonch and Whitney back for the second half/playoff push will turn out to be a blessing. I think we're deep enough at defenseman to overcome these injuries at least for half the season. Good thing we hung onto Sydor, who I think will be at least solid in my opinion.

I'm more concerned with the overall team toughness. Just scanning the likely roster it looks to me like this team is going to get pushed around. Hopefully having a healthy Sid and Fluery all year will cancel some of that out.

While I'm not crazy about Whitney being out, I'm definately more worried with Gonchar being out for a significant amount of time. I do not like that situation. IMO, Gonchar showed he is capable of playing one hell of a defense last season, along with his PP QB'ing. I also felt he stepped up as a leader on that defense. IMO, that's a huge loss that cannot be replaced or held over by the likes of Sydor.

Also, according to Savern, Kennedy signed a two year deal and Ryan Stone wants out of Pittsburgh. I guess we need third liners since players like Stone and Filewich are not stepping up, so we sign Kennedy. Not exactly a mouth watering signing in my book, but I don't think we had a choice.

Looking at our roster, minus Malone throwing a hit and throwing down, I really do not see us lacking in the physical play department.....

Ruutu - Cooke

Laraque - Godard

While Godard is no Laraque when it comes to W's vs L's in fights, he still fights. Cooke is younger than Ruutu, I think he will put up better points and plays an overall better game than Ruutu and he hits just as much as Ruutu. I'm not seeing a drop in our physical play department. A few quotes...

"I don't go out and stick [opponents] after the whistle and yap and do all those types of things," he said. "I try to play in between the whistles.

"It's a completely different approach [than Ruutu's]. I'm going to try to get guys off their game and get guys to worry about me, but not by sticking them in the back of the legs or punching after the whistle, that kind of stuff."

"I'm a guy who goes in and creates space for our team, because on the forecheck, every time I go in, I'm going to finish my check," he said.

"I'm going to play hard, keep guys accountable on the other team so that, if it's my line or somebody else's line out there, they're going to take that extra look over their shoulder. It takes that split-second away so that they don't have time to make the play [they want]."